Augmented reality systems for facilitating a purchasing process at a merchant location

ABSTRACT

A method of facilitating an augmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location may be provided. The method may include storing profile data, receiving location data and environmental data from a computing device associated with the stored profile data. Upon determining that the user device has entered a predefined merchant location, the method may include initiating a sequence of augmented reality modes including at least a first augmented reality mode associated with the selection of an item and a second augmented reality mode associated with the payment of the item. The user device may display virtual content in association with each mode, and upon detecting predetermined user inputs such as gestures, fixed gazes, or moving through thresholds, the system may enable the selection and payment of one or more items by sending a purchase request to a merchant terminal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/195,534, filed Nov.19, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/816,014, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,134,084, filed Nov. 17, 2017, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entiretyas if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for facilitatingan augmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchantlocation, and more particularly initiating a sequence of two or moreaugmented reality modes based on a user's presence at a predefinedmerchant location.

BACKGROUND

Purchasing items from a merchant location, such as a store, typicallyinvolves a process of various steps such as selecting an item,configuring the item (i.e., selecting size, type, quantity, etc.), andpaying for the item. Purchasing items from different merchants mayrequire a different series of steps, for example, the steps that acustomer may take to buy a cup of coffee at a coffee shop may bedifferent than the steps a customer may take to buy a ticket at a trainstation. It is common for merchants to have employees on staff to helpanswer questions about items and services that are for sale and tofacilitate the selection, configuration, and purchase of such items andservices. However, at any given point in time, a merchant's employeesmay be busy, understaffed, or undertrained, which may make the processof purchasing an item more time-consuming and more difficult for aconsumer than necessary.

Augmented reality systems may provide new ways of interacting withmerchants by providing virtual content that is associated with physicalobjects and/or virtual objects, which may be viewed and manipulated by auser of an augmented reality device. However, such augmented realitysystems may only provide limited functionality that is not designed tofacilitate multi-step merchant-specific shopping processes that areintegrated with financial service providers to facilitate a transactionat a merchant location from start to finish.

Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods for facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location.Such systems can provide a sequence of augmented reality modes that aredesigned to facilitate the entire process of purchasing an item from amerchant from start to finish. Embodiments of the present disclosure aredirected to this and other considerations.

SUMMARY

Disclosed embodiments provide systems and methods for providing anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location.

Consistent with the disclosed embodiments, a method of facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant locationmay include storing profile data comprising user payment credentials anduser profile information. The method may include receiving location dataand environmental data representing a physical environment from acomputing device associated with the stored profile data. The method mayinclude determining, based on the location data, that the computingdevice has entered a predefined merchant location associated with amerchant. The method may include initiating a first sequence of two ormore predetermined augmented reality modes associated with steps forpurchasing an item at the merchant location in response to determiningthat the computing device is at the merchant location. The computingdevice may be configured to display virtual content based on theenvironmental data in response to activation of at least one of the twoor more predetermined augmented reality modes. The method may furtherinclude directing the computing device to activate a first augmentedreality mode of the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes,wherein the first augmented reality mode is configured to enable userselection of one or more items available for purchase. The method mayfurther include receiving a first user input detected by the computingdevice following the activation of the first augmented reality mode. Thefirst user input may be associated with selection of at least one of theone or more items available for purchase. The method may further includedirecting the computing device to activate a second augmented realitymode of the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes inresponse to receiving the first user input, wherein the second augmentedreality mode is configured to enable payment for the one or moreselected items. The method may further include receiving a second userinput detected by the computing device following the activation of thesecond augmented reality mode. The second user input may be associatedwith payment for the one or more selected items. The method may furtherinclude providing purchase request data to a merchant terminal to enablea transaction related to the one or more selected items in response toreceiving the second user input. The purchase request data may comprisethe stored user payment credentials.

Consistent with the disclosed embodiments, systems and non-transitorycomputer-readable mediums for providing an augmented reality experienceto purchase an item at a merchant location are also provided.

Further features of the disclosed system and methods, and the advantagesoffered thereby, are explained in greater detail hereinafter withreference to specific embodiments illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like elements are indicated by like referencedesignators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and which are incorporated into andconstitute a portion of this disclosure, illustrate variousimplementations and aspects of the disclosed technology and, togetherwith the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosedtechnology. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system that may be used facilitatean augmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchantlocation;

FIG. 2 is a component diagram of an exemplary service provider terminal;

FIG. 3 is a component diagram of an exemplary computing device;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another exemplary method for facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location;and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another exemplary method for facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some implementations of the disclosed technology will be described morefully with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosedtechnology may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. Thecomponents described hereinafter as making up various elements of thedisclosed technology are intended to be illustrative and notrestrictive. Many suitable components that would perform the same orsimilar functions as components described herein are intended to beembraced within the scope of the disclosed electronic devices andmethods. Such other components not described herein may include, but arenot limited to, for example, components developed after development ofthe disclosed technology.

It is also to be understood that the mention of one or more method stepsdoes not preclude the presence of additional method steps or interveningmethod steps between those steps expressly identified. Similarly, it isalso to be understood that the mention of one or more components in adevice or system does not preclude the presence of additional componentsor intervening components between those components expressly identified.

The disclosed embodiments are directed to systems and methods forfacilitating an augmented reality experience to enable the purchase ofan item at a merchant location. Consistent with the disclosedembodiments, a method of facilitating an augmented reality experience topurchase an item at a merchant location may include storing profile datacomprising user payment credentials and user profile information. Themethod may include receiving location data and environmental datarepresenting a physical environment from a computing device associatedwith the stored profile data. The method may include determining, basedon the location data, that the computing device has entered a predefinedmerchant location associated with a merchant. The method may includeinitiating a first sequence of two or more predetermined augmentedreality modes associated with steps for purchasing an item at themerchant location in response to determining that the computing deviceis at the merchant location. The computing device may be configured todisplay virtual content based on the environmental data in response toactivation of at least one of the two or more predetermined augmentedreality modes. The method may further include directing the computingdevice to activate a first augmented reality mode of the two or morepredetermined augmented reality modes, wherein the first augmentedreality mode is configured to enable user selection of one or more itemsavailable for purchase. The method may further include receiving a firstuser input detected by the computing device following the activation ofthe first augmented reality mode. The first user input may be associatedwith selection of at least one of the one or more items available forpurchase. The method may further include directing the computing deviceto activate a second augmented reality mode of the two or morepredetermined augmented reality modes in response to receiving the firstuser input, wherein the second augmented reality mode is configured toenable payment for the one or more selected items. The method mayfurther include receiving a second user input detected by the computingdevice following the activation of the second augmented reality mode.The second user input may be associated with payment for the one or moreselected items. The method may further include providing purchaserequest data to a merchant terminal to enable a transaction related tothe one or more selected items in response to receiving the second userinput. The purchase request data may comprise the stored user paymentcredentials.

In another aspect, another method for facilitating an augmented realityexperience to enable the purchase of an item at a merchant location isdisclosed. The disclosed method can include receiving authenticationcredentials associated with user payment credentials and user profileinformation at a computing device. The method may include detecting bythe computing device, location data and environmental data representinga physical environment of the computing device. The method may includetransmitting the location data and environmental data by the computingdevice to a service provider terminal. The method may include activatinga first augmented reality mode by the computing device and in responseto receiving a first instruction from the service provider terminal. Thefirst augmented reality mode may be configured to enable user selectionof one or more items for purchase. The method may further includedisplaying a visual indication of one or more items that may be selectedfor purchase by the computing device and while the first augmentedreality mode is active. The method may further include detecting a firstuser input that is representative of a user selection of at least one ofthe one or more items for purchase by the computing device and while thefirst augmented reality mode is active. The method may further includeactivating a second augmented reality mode by the computing device andin response to receiving a second instruction from the service providerterminal. The second augmented reality mode may be configured to enablepayment for the one or more selected items. The method may furtherinclude detecting a second user input that is representative of a user'sintent to pay for the one or more selected items by the computing deviceand while the second augmented reality mode is active. The method mayfurther include transmitting the second user input to the serviceprovider terminal.

In another aspect, another method of facilitating an augmented realityexperience to enable the purchase of an item at a merchant location isdisclosed. The disclosed method can include detecting that a computingdevice associated with a user has entered a predefined merchant locationassociated with the merchant by a merchant terminal associated with amerchant. The method may include initiating a sequence of two or morepredetermined augmented reality modes associated with steps forpurchasing an item at the merchant location in response to detecting thecomputing device at the merchant location. The method may furtherinclude directing the computing device to activate a first augmentedreality mode of the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes.The first augmented reality mode may be configured to enable userselection of one or more items for purchase. The method may furtherinclude receiving a first user input detected by the computing devicefollowing the activation of the first augment reality mode. The firstuser input may be associated with selection of at least one of the oneor more items for purchase. The method may further include directing thecomputing device to activate a second augmented reality mode of the twoor more predetermined augmented reality modes in response to receivingthe first user input. The second augmented reality mode may beconfigured to enable payment for the one or more selected items. Themethod may further include receiving a second user input detected by thecomputing device following the activation of the second augment realitymode. The second user input may be associated with payment of at leastone of the one or more items for purchase. The method may furtherinclude receiving purchase request data to enable a transaction relatedto the one or more selected items from a financial service providerterminal and following the activation of the second augmented realitymode. The purchase request data may comprise user payment credentials.

Although many of the disclosed embodiments are directed towards methods,it is contemplated that such methods may be embodied in both systems andnon-transitory computer readable medium. A system may include one ormore memory devices storing instructions, and one or more processorsconfigured to execute the instructions to perform steps of a method offacilitating an augmented reality experience to enable the purchase ofan item at a merchant location as described herein. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may store instructions that, when executed byone or more processors, may cause a computing device to perform a methodof facilitating an augmented reality experience to enable the purchaseof an item at a merchant location as described herein.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thedisclosed technology, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and disclosed herein. Wherever convenient, thesame references numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer tothe same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system that may be configured toperform one or more processes that can facilitate an augmented realityexperience to purchase an item at a merchant location. According to someembodiments, a merchant location may be a physical location such as astorefront, or alternatively a merchant location may include a virtuallocation, such as a virtual storefront that is not physically present ina location but that may be virtually displayed by a computing device atan associated location. The components and arrangements shown in FIG. 1are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments as the componentsused to implement the disclosed processes and features may vary.

In accordance with disclosed embodiments, transaction facilitatingsystem 100 may include a service provider terminal 110 in communicationwith a computing device 120 via network 130. In some embodiments,service provider terminal 110 may also be in communication with amerchant database terminal 140 via network 130. Computing device 120 maybe a mobile computing device (e.g., a smart phone, tablet computer,smart wearable device, portable laptop computer, voice command device,wearable augmented reality device, or other mobile computing device). Insome embodiments, computing device 120 may be configured to provide oneor more of an augmented reality and a virtual reality experience to oneor more users, and may be equipped with a visual display, speakers orother auditory devices, tactile simulators, and other devices configuredto engage the user's senses to enhance the augmented/virtual realityexperience.

In some embodiments, transaction facilitating system 100 may connect tomerchant database terminal 140 that communicates with other devices ofsystem 100 via network 130. In some embodiments, transactionfacilitating system 100 may also include a merchant point of sale (POS)terminal 150 that may communicate with other devices of system 100 vianetwork 130. Additionally, in some embodiments, transaction facilitatingsystem 100 may also include a financial service provider terminal 160that may communicate with other devices of system 100 via network 130.

Network 130 may be of any suitable type, including individualconnections via the internet such as cellular or WiFi networks. In someembodiments, network 130 may connect terminals using direct connectionssuch as radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication(NFC), Bluetooth™, low-energy Bluetooth™ (BLE), WiFi™, ZigBee™, ambientbackscatter communications (ABC) protocols, USB, or LAN. Because theinformation transmitted may be personal or confidential, securityconcerns may dictate one or more of these types of connections beencrypted or otherwise secured. In some embodiments, however, theinformation being transmitted may be less personal, and therefore thenetwork connections may be selected for convenience over security.

An exemplary embodiment of service provider terminal 110 is shown inmore detail in FIG. 2 . Computing device 120, merchant database terminal140, merchant POS terminal 150, and financial service provider terminal160 may have a similar structure and components that are similar tothose described with respect to service provider terminal 110. As shown,service provider terminal 110 may include a processor 210, aninput/output (“I/O”) device 220, a memory 230 containing an operatingsystem (“OS”) 240 and a program 250. For example, service providerterminal 110 may be a single server or may be configured as adistributed computer system including multiple servers or computers thatinteroperate to perform one or more of the processes and functionalitiesassociated with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, serviceprovider terminal 110 may further include a peripheral interface, atransceiver, a mobile network interface in communication with processor210, a bus configured to facilitate communication between the variouscomponents of the service provider terminal 110, and a power sourceconfigured to power one or more components of service provider terminal110.

A peripheral interface may include the hardware, firmware and/orsoftware that enables communication with various peripheral devices,such as media drives (e.g., magnetic disk, solid state, or optical diskdrives), other processing devices, or any other input source used inconnection with the instant techniques. In some embodiments, aperipheral interface may include a serial port, a parallel port, ageneral purpose input and output (GPIO) port, a game port, a universalserial bus (USB), a micro-USB port, a high definition multimedia (HDMI)port, a video port, an audio port, a Bluetooth™ port, a near-fieldcommunication (NFC) port, another like communication interface, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments, a transceiver may be configured to communicate withcompatible devices and ID tags when they are within a predeterminedrange. A transceiver may be compatible with one or more of:radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC),Bluetooth™, low-energy Bluetooth™ (BLE), WiFi™, ZigBee™, ambientbackscatter communications (ABC) protocols or similar technologies.

A mobile network interface may provide access to a cellular network, theInternet, or another wide-area network. In some embodiments, a mobilenetwork interface may include hardware, firmware, and/or software thatallows processor(s) 210 to communicate with other devices via wired orwireless networks, whether local or wide area, private or public, asknown in the art. A power source may be configured to provide anappropriate alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) to powercomponents.

As described above, service provider terminal 110 may configured toremotely communicate with one or more other devices, such as computerdevice 120, merchant database terminal 140, merchant POS terminal 150,and financial service provider terminal 160. According to someembodiments, service provider terminal 110 may be configured to receivemerchant data and/or purchase requests from merchant database terminal140 and/or merchant POS 150, environmental data, location data, and/orpurchase requests from computing device 120, and payment authorizationsand/or payment credentials from financial service provider terminal 160.In some embodiments, service provider terminal 110 may be configured totransmit virtual environmental data, virtual content, and/orinstructions to generate virtual content associated with one or moreaugmented reality modes to computing device 120. Service providerterminal 110 may be further configured to transmit or forward purchaserequests and payment authorizations between computing device 120,merchant database terminal 140, merchant POS terminal 150, and/orfinancial service provider terminal 160 as necessary to facilitate thepurchase of one or more items at a merchant location.

Processor 210 may include one or more of a microprocessor,microcontroller, digital signal processor, co-processor or the like orcombinations thereof capable of executing stored instructions andoperating upon stored data. Memory 230 may include, in someimplementations, one or more suitable types of memory (e.g. such asvolatile or non-volatile memory, random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks,floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash memory, aredundant array of independent disks (RAID), and the like), for storingfiles including an operating system, application programs (including,for example, a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, andor other applications, as necessary), executable instructions and data.In one embodiment, the processing techniques described herein areimplemented as a combination of executable instructions and data withinthe memory 230.

Processor 210 may be one or more known processing devices, such as amicroprocessor from the Pentium™ family manufactured by Intel™ or theTurion™ family manufactured by AMD™. Processor 210 may constitute asingle core or multiple core processor that executes parallel processessimultaneously. For example, processor 210 may be a single coreprocessor that is configured with virtual processing technologies. Incertain embodiments, processor 210 may use logical processors tosimultaneously execute and control multiple processes. Processor 210 mayimplement virtual machine technologies, or other similar knowntechnologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run,manipulate, store, etc. multiple software processes, applications,programs, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand thatother types of processor arrangements could be implemented that providefor the capabilities disclosed herein.

Service provider terminal 110 may include one or more storage devicesconfigured to store information used by processor 210 (or othercomponents) to perform certain functions related to the disclosedembodiments. In one example, service provider terminal 110 may includememory 230 that includes instructions to enable processor 210 to executeone or more applications, such as server applications, networkcommunication processes, and any other type of application or softwareknown to be available on computer systems. Alternatively, theinstructions, application programs, etc. may be stored in an externalstorage or available from a memory over a network. The one or morestorage devices may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic,semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, or other type ofstorage device or tangible computer-readable medium.

In one embodiment, service provider terminal 110 may include memory 230that includes instructions that, when executed by processor 210, performone or more processes consistent with the functionalities disclosedherein. Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent withdisclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computersconfigured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, service providerterminal 110 may include memory 230 that may include one or moreprograms 250 to perform one or more functions of the disclosedembodiments. Moreover, processor 210 may execute one or more programs250 located remotely from service provider terminal 110. For example,service provider terminal 110 may access one or more remote programs250, that, when executed, perform functions related to disclosedembodiments. In some embodiments, one or more programs 250 may beconfigured to generate one or more augmented reality modes based on oneor more of environmental data, virtual environmental data, merchantdata, profile data, biometric data, or device data. Biometric data maybe data that is associated with user of computing device 120, such asrespiratory rate, heart rate, pupil dilation, blood pressure,temperature, and the like, that may be collected by one or more sensorsthat may be associated with computing device 120 or some other networkeddevice. According to some embodiments, system 100 may determine one ormore emotional or mental states (e.g., whether a user is happy, sad,angry, frustrated, tired, distracted, under stress, aggressive, etc.) ofa user of computing device 120 based on the detected biometric data. Forexample, service provider terminal 110 may determine that a user ofcomputing device 120 is under stress based on the user's heart rateexceeding a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, serviceprovider terminal 110 may be configured to determine an emotional stateor an intent of the user based on brainwave data obtained from a sensorconfigured to detect brainwaves of a user. In some embodiments, serviceprovider terminal 110 may be configured to determine an action, such asa selection of an item, based on brainwave data associated with theuser, such that for example, a user may select an item simply bythinking about the item. Device data may represent user inputs tocomputing device 120, such as a press of a button, a swipe of a screen,a click of a mouse, an oral command or sound, and the like. In someembodiments, service provider terminal 110 may store one or moresequences or augmented reality modes that may be associated with theprocess of purchasing one or more items or services from a merchant.

Memory 230 may include one or more memory devices that store data andinstructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosedembodiments. Memory 230 may also include any combination of one or moredatabases controlled by memory controller devices (e.g., server(s),etc.) or software, such as document management systems, Microsoft™ SQLdatabases, SharePoint™ databases, Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases,or other relational databases. Memory 230 may include softwarecomponents that, when executed by processor 210, perform one or moreprocesses consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In someembodiments, memory 230 may include a merchant information database 260,an environment database 270, and a virtual environmental database 280for storing related data to enable service provider terminal 110 toperform one or more of the processes and functionalities associated withthe disclosed embodiments. Merchant information database 260 may includestored data relating to product price, product inventory, relatedproducts, and available discounts associated with one or more productsassociated with one or more merchants. Environment database 270 mayinclude stored data relating to a physical environment that is capturedby one or more devices (e.g., computing device 120) of system 100.Virtual environment database 280 may include stored data relating to avirtual environment, virtual environmental data, or virtual objects thatcan be updated based upon interactions with one or more devices (e.g.,computing device 120) of system 100 and may be used to generate andtrack virtual content being displayed and/or interacted with by one ormore devices (e.g., computing device 120). Virtual content may becontent that may be superimposed over a display of reality via computingdevice 120 (e.g., a wearable augmented reality device) to create anaugmented reality including virtual elements that are not physicallypresent in the environment being viewed by a user of computing device120 but that may be virtually viewed and interacted with by the user viacomputing device 120. According to some embodiments, the system (e.g.,computing device 120) may create an augmented reality by combiningvirtual environmental data with environmental data and simultaneouslydisplaying physical and virtual content. Virtual environmental data mayrepresent virtual content that may be used to create a virtualenvironment and/or an augmented reality environment. According to someembodiments, a virtual object may be an object that is not physicallypresent in the immediate physical environment that is viewable ordetectable via computing device 120 but that is visually represented ina virtual or augmented environment that is superimposed over thephysical environment by computing device 120. For example, a user ofcomputing device 120 may be at a shoe store viewing shoes that arephysically present on a shoe rack, and computing device 120 may displayvirtual objects that represent alternative styles or colors of shoes tothe physical shoes being viewed by the user, which may not be physicallypresent in the environment, so that the user can visually compare thedifferent styles. According to some embodiments, the store may sellphysical objects corresponding to virtual objects that are not presentin the immediate physical environment by, for example, having inventorycorresponding to the virtual objects stored at a different portion themerchant location (e.g., shoes stored out of sight in a storeroom) orsystem 100 may enable the user to place an order of an itemcorresponding to a virtual object for delivery from a remote inventoryof the merchant (e.g., by communicating an order to merchant POSterminal 150 which may then be fulfilled via a delivery from a remotewarehouse associated with the merchant). In some embodiments, virtualobjects may be objects that are associated with an object that isphysically present in the immediate environment, such as for example,virtual objects that represent options for toppings (e.g., butter, salt,etc.) displayed next to a bag of popcorn that is for sale and is presentin the immediate physical environment. In some embodiments, virtualobjects may represent objects that are present in the immediate physicalenvironment, such as for example, a virtual object that represents avirtual menu or several virtual cup icons displaying different types ofcoffee that are physically present behind a counter at a coffee shopthat a user of computing device 120 is at.

Service provider terminal 110 may also be communicatively connected toone or more memory devices (e.g., databases (not shown)) locally orthrough a network. The remote memory devices may be configured to storeinformation and may be accessed and/or managed by service providerterminal 110. By way of example, the remote memory devices may bedocument management systems, Microsoft™ SQL database, SharePoint™databases, Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relationaldatabases. Systems and methods consistent with disclosed embodiments,however, are not limited to separate databases or even to the use of adatabase.

Service provider terminal 110 may also include one or more I/O devices220 that may comprise one or more interfaces for receiving signals orinput from devices and providing signals or output to one or moredevices that allow data to be received and/or transmitted by serviceprovider terminal 110. For example, service provider terminal 110 mayinclude interface components, which may provide interfaces to one ormore input devices, such as one or more keyboards, mouse devices, touchscreens, track pads, trackballs, scroll wheels, digital cameras,microphones, sensors, and the like, that enable service providerterminal 110 to receive data from one or more users (such as viacomputing device 120).

In exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology, service providerterminal 110 may include any number of hardware and/or softwareapplications that are executed to facilitate any of the operations. Theone or more I/O interfaces may be utilized to receive or collect dataand/or user instructions from a wide variety of input devices. Receiveddata may be processed by one or more computer processors as desired invarious implementations of the disclosed technology and/or stored in oneor more memory devices.

According to some embodiments, service provider terminal 110 may beconfigured to receive environmental data from another device (e.g.,computing device 120), merchant data from merchant POS terminal 150,location data from computing device 120, and generate virtualenvironmental data and/or virtual content to be used in association withone or more augmented reality modes that are configured to facilitatespecific processes or functions related to purchasing an item. Forexample, various augmented reality modes that may be generated by thesystem 100 that are disclosed herein may include, but are not limitedto, an augmented reality item selection mode, an augmented reality itemconfiguration mode, an augmented reality payment mode, an augmentedreality navigation mode, an augmented reality information mode, and anaugmented reality communication mode. According to some embodiments, anaugmented reality item selection mode may facilitate the selection ofone or more physical or virtual items or services by a user of system100. In some embodiments, an augmented reality item configuration modemay facilitate the configuration and/or customization of a selected itemor service. In some embodiments, an augmented reality payment mode mayfacilitate the purchase of one or more selected items or services by,for example, authorizing the transaction using a payment accountassociated with a user. In some embodiments, an augmented realityinformation mode may facilitate the display of information relating toone or more physical or virtual objects, such as for example, displayingmovie times at a theater, information pertaining to sales at a merchant,news or historical information pertaining to a location that computingdevice 120 is present at, and other such general information. In someembodiments, an augmented reality communication mode may facilitatecommunication by a user of computing device 120 with remote users ofother devices by for example, providing communication functionalitiessuch as text message, instant message, email, phone or voice-over-IPcall, video messaging, and the like, by enabling a user to input awritten, spoken, and visual message using computing device 120 anddisplaying received messages.

In some embodiments, only one augmented reality mode may be active at atime, and therefore when a new augmented reality mode is activated theprevious augmented reality mode may be deactivated. According to someembodiments, the activation of each augmented reality mode may causecomputing device 120 to display certain virtual content designed tofacilitate a particular functionality associated with the activatedaugmented reality mode. For example, the activation of augmented realityitem selection mode by service provider terminal 110 may cause computingdevice 120 to display virtual content that may be selected (or otherwiseinteracted with) in response to the detection of user input data toenable the selection of one or more items for purchase. According tosome embodiments, any of the augmented reality modes described hereinmay include, may be temporarily interrupted by, or may be separated insequence by a virtual reality mode that may cause display 306 ofcomputing device 120 to display content that is entirely virtual. Forexample, if a user uses system 100 to buy a cup of coffee at a merchant,following an augmented reality payment mode, while a user is waiting fortheir coffee to be made, service provider terminal 110 may causecomputing device 120 to display an entirely virtual jungle world toentertain the user of computing device 120 and strengthen the emotionalresponse the user experiences in relation to the purchase. According tosome embodiments, each augmented reality mode may have an associateddegree, level, or range of virtual immersion. For example, a firstaugmented reality mode may only limit display 306 to only being 10%occupied by virtual content, whereas another augmented reality mode maycause display 306 to be 70-80% occupied by virtual content, and a thirdaugmented reality mode may cause display 306 to be 100% occupied byvirtual context such that the field of view of reality is entirelyobscured. In this way, as computing device 120 transitions betweenaugmented reality modes, a user may experience a transition betweendifferent levels of virtual immersion ranging from viewing reality inits entirety to viewing an entirely virtual environment, as well asvarious levels of augmented reality between.

According to some embodiments, based on the location data of computingdevice 120, user profile information, and/or a detected intent topurchase an item, service provider terminal 110 may initiate apredetermined sequence of augmented reality modes associated with stepsfor purchasing an item at a merchant location that are designed tofacilitate different actions that may be necessary in a process ofpurchasing a particular item or type of item at a particular merchantlocation. According to some embodiments, the predetermined sequence maybe determined by an operator of system 100 or a merchant. According tosome embodiments, one or more such predetermined sequences may bedetermined or modified by a user of system 100. According to someembodiments, the predetermined sequence may be determined by system 100(e.g., via service provider terminal 110) for a particular user based onuser preferences stored by service provider terminal 110 in associationwith the user. In some embodiments, service provider terminal 110 mayinitiate a transition to a particular augmented reality mode or mayinitiate a predetermined sequence of augmented reality modes based ondetected biometric data associated with a user of computing device 120,an emotional state of the user of computing device 120, which may bedetermined by service provider terminal 110 based on biometric data, adetected condition of the physical environment (e.g., sounds, lighting,images, etc.), or a detected input to computing device 120 (e.g., apress of a button, a scroll, a motion of the device, etc.). As describedin greater detail below with respect to FIG. 4 , service providerterminal 110 may initiate different augmented reality modes of apredetermined sequence in response to determining that computing device120 has entered a predefined merchant location and/or in response toreceiving one or more predefined user inputs associated with theprevious augmented reality mode. According to some embodiments, serviceprovider terminal 110 may initiate a sequence of predetermined realitymodes in response to determining that a user of computing device 120 hasformed an intent to make a purchase of an item, regardless of whetherthe user is at the merchant location.

While service provider terminal 110 has been described as one form forimplementing the techniques described herein, those having ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that other, functionally equivalenttechniques may be employed. For example, as known in the art, some orall of the functionality implemented via executable instructions mayalso be implemented using firmware and/or hardware devices such asapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logicarrays, state machines, etc. Furthermore, other implementations of theservice provider terminal 110 may include a greater or lesser number ofcomponents than those illustrated.

Merchant database terminal 140 may have one or more processors 142 andone or more merchant databases 144, which may be any suitable repositoryof merchant data. Merchant database terminal 140 may be located at thePOS location, off-site at another merchant location, or at a third-partylocation. Information stored in merchant database terminal 140 may beaccessed (e.g., retrieved, updated, and added to) via network 130 by oneor more devices (e.g., service provider terminal 110) of system 100. Inother embodiments, merchant POS terminal 150 may be configured toprocess online, remote, and/or in-person transactions on behalf of theassociated merchant. Merchant database 144 may store merchant data, suchas information relating to products and services offered by merchants,pricing, quantity, availability, discounts, reviews, and any other suchgenerally available information that a consumer may utilize in making apurchasing decision. In some embodiments, merchant database 144 may alsoinclude location information associated with products and services thatidentifies the location(s) that a particular product or service isavailable for purchase. In some embodiments, the location informationmay include an identification of a particular store, terminal, or kioskthat the product or service may be purchased from. In some embodiments,merchant database 144 may store one or more sequences of augmentedreality modes that may be associated with the process of purchasing oneor more particular types of items or services. In some embodiments,augmented reality modes and sequences stored by merchant database 144may be accessed by service provider terminal 110 in the course ofinitiating a sequence of augmented reality modes.

Merchant POS terminal 150 may have one or more POS devices 152, 154, 156that may communicate with one or more devices (e.g., computing device120) of system 100 via network 130. In some embodiments, POS devices152, 154, 156 may be associated with one or more products or items at aPOS location, and may serve as beacons to identify the associatedproducts or items and related information to one or more devices ofsystem 100. Further, in some embodiments, POS devices 152, 154, 156 mayserve as beacons that are capable of detecting when computing device 120is within a predetermined proximity. POS devices 152, 154, 156 may beconfigured so that they are capable of wirelessly communicating withcomputing device 120.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of computing device 120. As shown,computing device 120 may include input/output (“I/O”) device 220 forreceiving virtual environmental data and/or virtual content from anotherdevice (e.g., service provider terminal 110 or merchant POS terminal150), memory 230 containing operating system (“OS”) 240, program 250,and any other associated component as described above with respect toservice provider terminal 110. In some embodiments, memory 230 ofcomputing device 120 may optionally include one or more of merchantinformation database 260, environment database 270, and virtualenvironmental database 280. Computing device 120 may also have one ormore processors, including an augmented environment processor 302 forgenerating signals representative of augmented and/or virtualenvironments, a geographic location sensor (“GLS”) 304 for determiningthe geographic location of computing device 120, an augmentedenvironmental data display 306 for displaying augmented environmentaldata, virtual content, and/or virtual objects, an environmental data(“ED”) sensor 308 for obtaining environmental data including audioand/or visual information representing a physical environment as well asuser input data, such as gestures, gazes, and other movements associatedwith a physical or virtual object, as well as movements through physicalor virtual thresholds such as doorways, and a user interface (“U/I”)device 310 for receiving user input data, such as data representative ofa click, a scroll, a tap, a press, or typing on an input device that candetect tactile inputs. User input data may also be non-tactile inputsthat may be otherwise detected by ED sensor 308. For example, user inputdata may include auditory commands, gestures such as pointing, grabbing,swiping, scrolling, or touching motions with respect to objects that arepresent in the physical environment (e.g., pointing at an item that isphysically present on a shelf) or virtual objects (e.g., pointing at avirtual item that is virtually displayed as being on a shelf), as wellas other physical acts that may be detected by ED sensor 308, such asfocusing a gaze of the user or image capture device of computing device120 on a physical or virtual item or object for a predetermined amountof time or moving through a physical or virtually represented doorway orsome other threshold. User input data may also include biometric dataassociated with a user of computing device 120 obtained by one or moresensors (e.g., ED sensor 308). According to some embodiments, user inputdata may also comprise an emotional state of a user of computing device120 that may, for example, be determined by service provider terminal110 based on biometric data detected by one or more sensors. Accordingto some embodiments, U/I device 310 may include some or all of thecomponents described with respect to input/output device 220 above. Insome embodiments, ED sensor 308 may include a microphone and/or an imagecapture device, such as a digital camera.

According to some embodiments, augmented environment processor 302 mayinclude some or all of the features and functions of processor 210described above. Further, augmented environment processor 302 may beconfigured to, based on environmental data obtained from theenvironmental data sensor, identify one or more items in theenvironmental data, augment the environmental data by adding the virtualenvironmental data representing virtual content associated with one ormore of the items, and generate a signal comprising augmentedenvironmental data. Virtual content may be content that is unrepresentedin the physical environment. The augmented environmental data display306 may be configured to receive the signal comprising augmentedenvironmental data and display the augmented environmental data inaccordance with the signal to display virtual content such as virtualobjects. According to some embodiments, the environmental data mayinclude data associated with virtual objects that renders the virtualobjects selectable or otherwise manipulatable in response to thedetection of predetermined user inputs.

According to some embodiments, augmented environment processor 302 maybe configured to process user input data to determine a user input, byfor example, identifying gestures detected by ED sensor 308 that areassociated with a physical or virtual object, determining that the gazeof a user of computing device 120 has been focused on a physical orvirtual object for longer than a predetermined period of time, ordetermining that the user of computing device 120 has moved through aphysical or virtual threshold, such as a doorway, or otherwiseidentifying some other meaningful or predetermined user action.According to some embodiments, the system 100 may utilize ED sensor 308to detect the direction of the gaze of a user of computer device 120 andaugmented environment processor 302 may determine what physical orvirtual object the user is focused on based on the environmental dataand virtual environmental data. Likewise, in some embodiments, augmentedenvironment processor 302 may determine that a user gesture is directedtowards a particular physical or virtual object by determining thedirection or orientation of the gesture relative to one or more physicalor virtual objects.

Following the detection of a user input, augmented environment processor302 may execute one or more commands associated with the user input withregards to the current augmented reality mode. For example, in someembodiments, during the activation of an augmented reality itemselection mode, detection of a user pointing at a physical or virtualobject may cause augmented environment processor 302 to generate anindication of a selection of the object, whereas, during the activationof an augmented reality payment mode, detection of a user pointing at aphysical or virtual object may cause augmented environment processor 302to generate an indication of a deselection of the object. It will beunderstood that in various embodiments, different user inputs may beassociated with different commands and that there are many possibledifferent user input-command combinations that may be used inassociation with many different augmented reality modes.

According to some embodiments, based on the detection or receipt of userinput data that indicates the selection of one or more items forpurchase and user input data that indicates an intent to complete apurchase, input/output device 220 may be configured to provide purchaserequest data to service provider terminal 110, merchant POS terminal150, or financial service provider terminal 160 to enable a transactionrelated to the one or more items that have been selected for purchase.Purchase request data may include identification information (e.g., typeof item, brand, quantity, selected configurations, etc.) of the selecteditems for purchase and user profile information. User profileinformation may be information sufficient to identify a user associatedwith computing device 120. User profile information may also includeother information such as payment account information, merchantpreferences, item preferences, delivery addresses, and other informationthat may be used in facilitating a purchase of one or more items. Insome embodiments, the purchase request data may comprise stored userpayment credentials. In some embodiments, payment credentials may bestored by financial service provider terminal 160, service providerterminal 110, or some other device.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of method 400 for facilitating an augmentedreality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location. Method400 may be performed by service provider terminal 110 using processor210 to execute memory 230. In some embodiments, one or more steps ofmethod 400 may be delegated to other devices or systems in system 100,such as computing device 120, merchant database terminal 140, merchantPOS terminal 150 and/or financial service provider terminal 160.Following method 400, a user may be enabled to purchase one or moreitems at a merchant location using a sequence of predetermined augmentedreality modes designed to facilitate the process of making the purchase.

At block 410, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) may storeprofile data. Profile data may include information such as paymentcredentials and/or user profile information. Profile data may be entereddirectly by a user (e.g., via computing device 120 or merchant POSterminal 150), or stored on and retrieved from merchant databaseterminal 140 or financial service provider terminal 160. Paymentcredentials may include credit card information, including standard ortokenized versions of the credentials, financial account information(e.g., which may be associated with financial service provider terminal160) or other financial information as needed to initiate and authorizea payment, while profile information can include delivery locations,billing addresses, previous transactions, other transaction metadata(e.g., location, time, etc.), user preferences relating to products andservices, user preferences relating to preferred user input commands totrigger a transition between augmented reality modes, and merchantaccount numbers.

At block 420, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) mayreceive location data and environmental data representing a physicalenvironment via for example, computing device 120. According to someembodiments, the environmental data may comprise audio and visualinformation representing a physical environment, such as an environmentof computing device 120. Location data may be derived from, for exampledata obtained from GLS 304 of computing device 120.

At block 430, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) maydetermine that computing device 120 has entered a predefined merchantlocation based on the location data. For example, based on location datagathered by GLS 304, the system may determine that computing device iswithin a predefined area, such as inside a store, a gas station, arestaurant, a mall, or any other such merchant facility. Alternatively,the system may determine that computing device 120 is within apredetermined distance from a boundary or point associated with themerchant location. As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art,system 100 may utilize geofencing to set predefined virtual boundariesor points from which the relative position of computing device 120 maybe determined. According to some embodiments, merchant POS terminal 150may determine that computing device 120 has entered the premises of thepredefined merchant location by detecting the presence of computingdevice 120. For example, computing device 120 may connect to a Wi-Finetwork hosted by merchant POS terminal 150 or merchant POS terminal 150may be connected to a sensor or device that is capable of detecting,identifying, and/or connecting with computing device 120. According tosome embodiments, service provider terminal 110 may determine thatcomputing device 120 has entered the predefined merchant location inresponse to receiving a message from merchant POS terminal 150.

Having received the environmental data and location data, serviceprovider terminal 110 may identify one or more merchant items in thevisual information of the environmental data. Merchant items may begoods or services for sale at a merchant location. In some embodiments,merchant items can be identified by recognizing shapes (e.g., via 2D or3D image recognition), bar codes, RFID devices, QR codes, IR-, BLE-, andother beacons located in an environment proximate a merchant location(e.g., POS devices 152, 154, and 156 associated with one or moreproducts or items at a merchant location). Service provider terminal 110may utilize merchant data that is received from, for example, merchantdatabase terminal 140 or merchant POS terminal 150 in identifying one ormore merchant items.

At block 440, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) mayinitiate a first sequence of two or more predetermined augmented realitymodes associated with steps for purchasing an item at the merchantlocation. In some embodiments, the system may initiate the firstsequence in response to determining that computing device 120 is at themerchant location, as described in block 430 above. According to someembodiments, computing device 120 may be configured to display virtualcontent in combination with environmental data obtained from, forexample, ED sensor 308, in response to activation of at least one of thetwo or more predetermined augmented reality modes.

At block 450, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) maydirect computing device 120 to activate a first augmented reality modeof the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes. In someembodiments, the first augmented reality mode may be configured toenable user selection of one or more items available for purchase (whichmay be referred to as the “augmented reality item selection mode”).According to some embodiments, based on the activation of the firstaugmented reality item selection mode, service provider terminal 110 maygenerate virtual environmental data and/or virtual content associatedwith the augmented reality item selection mode based on one or more ofthe identification of the merchant associated with the merchantlocation, the merchant data associated with the merchant location,identification of merchant items in the environmental data, preferencesincluded in the user profile information, biometric data, or anemotional state of the user. For example, service provider terminal 110may determine based on biometric data associated with a user ofcomputing device 120 that the user is thirsty, and may thereforegenerate virtual content related to a selection of beverages to presentas items that may be selected for purchase to the user. In someembodiments, service provider terminal 110 may determine (e.g., based onbiometric data) an emotional state of the user and may, for examplegenerate more virtual objects for the user to select from when the useris in a happy state than when the user is in a sad state. Serviceprovider terminal 110 may transmit the virtual environmental data and/orvirtual content associated with the augmented reality item selectionmode to computing device 120 for display. In some embodiments, computingdevice 120 may receive the virtual environmental data and/or virtualcontent and may use it to create an augmented environment when combinedwith the environmental data. According to some embodiments, virtualcontent associated with the augmented reality item selection mode mayinclude, for example, virtual objects that may be selected for purchaseor virtual visual effects that may be, for example, superimposed overobjects present in the physical environment, wherein the virtual visualeffects may indicate that an object may be selected for purchase. Thus,in some embodiments, the first augmented reality mode may be configuredto cause a display of a visual indication of an item that may beselected for purchase. In some embodiments, the visual indication may bea virtually augmented image of a real or physical item within the fieldof view of an image capture device associated with computing device 120.In some embodiments, computing device 120 may display virtual objectsthat represent available alternatives to physical objects at themerchant location. For example, if a red shirt is on display for sale ata clothing store, computing device 120 may display virtualrepresentations of the shirt in other colors that are available in thestore's inventory or via the merchant's online store but that may not beincluded in a physical display at the merchant. Further, in someembodiments, directing computing device 120 to activate a firstaugmented reality mode may include directing computing device 120 todisplay a prompt indicating that selection of the item can be achievedin response to detecting the first user input. Such a prompt may beincluded in the virtual content associated with associated with theaugmented reality item selection mode.

At block 460, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) mayreceive a first user input. The first user input may represent a userselection of one or more items for purchase and may be received by thesystem following the activation of the first augmented reality mode. Insome embodiments, the first user input may be detected by computingdevice 120 and transmitted to service provider terminal 110. Accordingto some embodiments, during the augmented reality item selection mode, auser of computing device 120 may select one or more items for purchaseby performing a user input action that is detectable by computing device120 and associated with a command to select an item, such as, forexample, gesturing at a physical or virtual object by performing aclicking, swiping, grabbing or pointing motion, gazing at a physical orvirtual object for longer than a predetermined amount of time, thinkingabout the object, or moving through a physical or virtual threshold suchas a doorway. In some embodiments, a user input may constituteperforming a click or a swipe of U/I device 310 while the gaze of a userof computing device 120 is determined by the system to be focused on aphysical or virtual object for more than a predetermined amount of time.

At block 470, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) maydirect computing device 120 to activate a second augmented reality modeof the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes. In someembodiments, the second augmented reality mode may be configured toenable payment for one or more items available for purchase (which maybe referred to as the “augmented reality payment mode”). According tosome embodiments, based on the activation of the second augmentedreality mode, service provider terminal 110 may generate virtual contentassociated with the augmented reality payment mode based on one or moreof the selected items for purchase, identification of the merchantassociated with the merchant location, the merchant data associated withthe merchant location, and preferences included in the user profileinformation. Service provider terminal 110 may transmit the virtualcontent associated with the augmented reality payment mode to computingdevice 120 for display. According to some embodiments, virtual contentassociated with the augmented reality payment mode may include, forexample, virtual content and/or virtual objects or virtual visualeffects that may be, for example, superimposed over objects present inthe physical environment which may indicate that such virtual orphysical objects may be selected to initiate a payment. For example, insome embodiments, virtual content associated with the augmented realitypayment mode may include a pair of virtual “yes” and “no” selectablebuttons associated with a caption that reads, for example, “Would youlike to complete the purchase of these items?” The virtual contentassociated with the augmented reality payment mode may include a virtualdisplay of an indication of the items that were selected for purchase,quantities, prices, and total prices. In some embodiments, virtualcontent associated with the augmented reality payment mode may include avirtual representation of various selectable payment methods, such ascash, credit card, debit card, or other payment account that may beselected by a user of computing device 120 to indicate a selectedpayment method.

At block 480, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) mayreceive a second user input. The second user input may represent a userselection of a command to make the purchase using a specified orpredetermined payment account and may be received by the systemfollowing the activation of the second augmented reality mode. In someembodiments, the second user input may be detected by computing device120 and transmitted to service provider terminal 110. According to someembodiments, during the augmented reality purchase mode, a user ofcomputing device 120 may select virtual content associated with theaugmented reality payment mode may be made by performing a user inputaction in a manner similar to that described above with respect to block480. According to some embodiments, virtual content associated with theaugmented reality payment mode may include a virtual doorway or avirtual enhancement of a physical doorway that may be “selected” bydetecting that a user associated with computing device 120 has movedthrough the doorway. For example, in some embodiments, a user mayindicate a desire to purchase selected items by walking through apredetermined physical doorway or a virtual doorway provided by display306 of computing device 120.

At block 490, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) mayprovide purchase request data to a merchant terminal (e.g., merchant POSterminal 150 or merchant database terminal 140) to enable a transactionrelated to the one or more selected items. According to someembodiments, purchase request data may be generated by computing device120 and transmitted to service provider terminal 110. The system mayprovide the purchase request data to a merchant terminal in response toreceiving the second user input described in block 480. According tosome embodiments, the purchase request data provided to the merchantterminal may include, for example but not limited to, the identificationof the one or more items selected for purchase and the stored userpayment credentials.

According to some embodiments, an item selected for purchase at amerchant location may optionally require configuration. For example, ifthe merchant is a coffeeshop and the item is a cup of coffee, a user mayneed to specify the size of the cup, the type or flavor of coffee, andwhether the user desires cream and/or sugar. As will be understood, theforegoing is merely an example and the nature of the features of aselected item or service for purchase that may be configured by a usermay vary greatly based on the type of object or service being purchased.Accordingly, in some embodiments, method 400 may additionally includethe steps that may result in the creation of configuration data that mayrepresent the selection of one or more of the size of an item, a colorof an item, a flavor of an item, a quantity of an item, or any otherfeature or aspect of an item or service that may be customized orconfigured via user selection before purchase. For example, such stepsmay include determining that at least one of the one or more selecteditems requires configuration prior to purchase, directing computingdevice 120 to activate a third augmented reality mode of the two or morepredetermined augmented reality modes in response to determining thatconfiguration is required, receiving a third user input detected bycomputing device 120, and providing configuration data to a merchantterminal (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150 or merchant database terminal140) to enable configuration of the one or more selected items.According to some embodiments, the third augmented reality mode may beconfigured to enable the configuration of the one or more selected items(which may be referred to as the “augmented reality configurationmode”). The third user input may be associated with configuration of atleast one of the one or more selected items. According to someembodiments, during the augmented reality configuration mode, a user ofcomputing device 120 may select virtual content associated with theaugmented reality configuration mode by performing a user input actionin a manner similar to that described above with respect to block 480.In some embodiments, the third user input may comprise one or more of aclick of computing device 120, a swipe of computing device 120, and oneor more predetermined user gestures. The virtual content associated withthe augmented reality configuration mode may include a virtual displayof virtual objects associated with a selected item, such as for example,three differently sized cups indicating small, medium and large coffeesizes, or other selectable virtual content, such as, for example, avirtual drop-down menu that allows a user to select the type or flavorof the item from a predetermined list. As will be appreciated, suchvirtual content may come in a variety of different forms. According tosome embodiments, the configuration data may be provided to the merchantterminal in response to receiving the third user input.

According to some embodiments, method 400 may provide additional stepsin a sequence to facilitate the purchase of an item at a merchantlocation in the case where the user associated with computing device 120is not yet at the merchant location. For example, embodiments mayinclude the additional steps of receiving an indication that the userassociated with the computing device has formed an intent to make apurchase of an item at a merchant location, determining, based on thelocation data, that the computing device is not at the predefinedmerchant location, initiating, in response to determining that thecomputing device is not at the predefined merchant location, a secondsequence of two or more predetermined augmented reality modes associatedwith steps for navigating to the predefined merchant location from acurrent location of the computing device, and directing the computingdevice to activate a first augmented reality mode of the second sequenceof two or more predetermined augmented reality modes, wherein the firstaugmented reality mode of the second sequence of two or morepredetermined augmented reality modes is configured to enable usernavigation to the predetermined merchant location (which may be referredto as the “augmented reality navigation mode”). In some embodiments,virtual content associated with the augmented reality navigation modemay include for example, virtual maps, virtual directions or indicationsof directions to a merchant location, virtual listings of multiplemerchant locations that sell the item or service sought to be purchased,and other such information that may be useful in assisting a user inlocating and navigating to a merchant location that offers a desireditem or service for sale. According to some embodiments, system 100 maydetermine that a user has formed an intent to purchase an item based onenvironmental data obtained from computing device, such as detecting anaudible or written indication of the user expressing an intent topurchase an item. According to some embodiments, system 100 maydetermine that a user has formed an intent to select an item or service,purchase an item or service, or take some other action with respect toan item or service by analyzing biometric data associated with the userby, for example, determining that a user is smiling, that a user hasnodded their head, that a user's pupils have dilated, performing ananalysis of the user's heart rate, facial expressions, voice, gesturesor analyzing a user's brainwaves to determine their intent. In someembodiments, system 100 may analyze text written or spoken by a user todetermine the user's intent. It will be appreciated of those of skill inthe art that these are merely examples and that system 100 may determinea user's intent based on biometric data in a variety of different ways.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of method 500 for facilitating an augmentedreality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location. Method500 may be performed by computing device 120 using processor 210 toexecute memory 230. In some embodiments, one or more steps of method 400may be delegated to other devices or systems in system 100, such asservice provider terminal 110, merchant database terminal 140, merchantPOS terminal 150 and/or financial service provider terminal 160.Following method 500, a user associated with computing device 120 may beenabled to purchase one or more items or services at a merchant locationby following a sequence of predetermined augmented reality modesdesigned to facilitate the process of making the purchase.

At block 510, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may receiveauthentication credentials associated with payment credentials and userprofile information. For example, computing device 120 may receive ausername, password, and/or pin number associated with a credit card,debit card or payment account associated with a user of computing device120.

At block 520, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may detectlocation data and environmental data representing a physical environmentof computing device 120. According to some embodiments, the detectedenvironmental data may include audio and visual information representinga physical environment of computing device 120.

At block 530, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may transmit thelocation data and environmental data to service provider terminal 110.

At block 540, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may activate afirst augmented reality mode in response to receiving a firstinstruction from service provider terminal 110. As previously describedabove, a first augmented reality mode may be for example, an augmentedreality item selection mode that may cause computing device 120 toreceive virtual environmental data associated with the augmented realityitem selection mode from service provider terminal 110 and displayvirtual content to enable the selection of one or more items forpurchase as previously described above. According to some embodiments,the first instruction may be sent by service provider terminal 110 inresponse to a determination by service provider terminal 110 thatcomputing device 120 has entered a predefined merchant locationassociated with a merchant.

At block 550, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may display avisual indication of one or more items that may be selected for purchasewhile the first augmented reality mode is active. For example, computingdevice 120 may display one or more selectable virtual objects (e.g.,objects that are not physically present within the immediate view ordisplay of computing device 120 at the merchant location). Computingdevice 120 may also display objects that are present in the physicallocation but that have been modified with virtual effects, such as, forexample, making a physical item glow, highlighting a physical item, orproviding virtual images, icons, or buttons in the vicinity of thephysical item. According to some embodiments, computing device 120 maydisplay one or more selectable virtual objects that representalternatives to physical items that are available for purchase.

At block 560, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may detect a firstuser input that is representative of a user selection of at least one ofthe one or more items for purchase. According to some embodiments,detection of a first user input may occur while the first augmentedreality mode is active.

At block 570, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may activate asecond augmented reality mode in response to receiving a secondinstruction from service provider terminal 110. As previously describedabove, a second augmented reality mode may be for example, an augmentedreality purchase mode that may cause computing device 120 to receivevirtual environmental data associated with the augmented realitypurchase mode from service provider terminal 110 and display virtualcontent to enable the purchase of one or more selected items aspreviously described above. According to some embodiments, the systemmay display, by computing device 120 and while the second augmentedreality mode is active, a visual indication of one or more paymentmethods that may be selected to complete a purchase.

At block 580, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may detect asecond user input that is representative of a user command to execute apurchase of the one or more selected items. According to someembodiments, detection of a second user input may occur while the firstaugmented reality mode is active. According to some embodiments,detection of one of the first user input or the second user inputcomprises detection of a click gesture, a swipe gesture, a focusgesture, or a step gesture. According to some embodiments, detection ofa click gesture may comprise detection by computing device 120 of apointing motion associated with the visual indication of one or moreitems that may be selected for purchase. In some embodiments, detectionof a swipe gesture may comprise detection by computing device 120 of aswiping motion associated with the visual indication of one or moreitems that may be selected for purchase. In some embodiments, detectionof a focus gesture may comprise determining that a gaze of a user ofcomputing device 120 is focused on the visual indication of one or moreitems that may be selected for purchase for longer than a predeterminedthreshold amount of time. According to some embodiments, detection of astep gesture may comprise determining that a user of computing device120 has transitioned through a predetermined gateway or threshold thatis present in the physical environment, such as, for example, walkingthrough a doorway present in the physical world or by walking through avirtual doorway presented in an augmented reality display.

At block 590, the system (e.g., computing device 120) may transmit thesecond user input to service provider terminal 110.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of method 600 for facilitating an augmentedreality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location. Method600 may be performed by merchant POS terminal 150 using processor 210 toexecute memory 230. In some embodiments, one or more steps of method 400may be delegated to other devices or systems in system 100, such asservice provider terminal 110, computing device 120, merchant databaseterminal 140, and/or financial service provider terminal 160. Followingmethod 600, a user associated with computing device 120 may be enabledto purchase one or more items or services at a merchant location byfollowing a sequence of predetermined augmented reality modes designedto facilitate the process of making the purchase.

At block 610, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150 associatedwith a merchant) may detect that computing device 120 that is associatedwith a user has entered a predefined merchant location associated withthe merchant. According to some embodiments, the system may detect thatcomputing device 120 has entered the predefined merchant location usingbeacons, such as POS devices 152, 154, 156, by for example, detecting awireless signal generated by computing device 120 or establishing awireless connection with computing device 120.

At block 620, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may initiatea sequence of two or more predetermined augmented reality modesassociated with steps for purchasing an item at the merchant location.In some embodiments, the sequence may be initiated in response todetecting that computing device 120 at the merchant location.

At block 630, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may directcomputing device 120 to activate a first augmented reality mode of thetwo or more predetermined augmented reality modes in a mannersubstantially similar to that of block 450 described above. According tosome embodiments, the first augmented reality mode may be an augmentedreality item selection mode.

At block 640, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may receive afirst user input detected by computing device 120 following theactivation of the first augmented reality mode. According to someembodiments, the first user input may be associated with selection of atleast one of the one or more items for purchase.

At block 650, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may directcomputing device 120 to activate a second augmented reality mode of thetwo or more predetermined augmented reality modes in a mannersubstantially similar to that of block 470 described above. According tosome embodiments, the first augmented reality mode may be an augmentedreality purchase mode.

At block 660, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may receive asecond user input detected by computing device 120 following theactivation of the second augmented reality mode. According to someembodiments, the second user input may be associated with payment of atleast one of the one or more items for purchase.

At block 670, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may receivepurchase request data to enable a transaction related to the one or moreselected items following the activation of the second augmented realitymode. According to some embodiments, the purchase request data may bereceived from financial service provider terminal 160. In someembodiments, the purchase request data may comprise user paymentcredentials.

According to some embodiments, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal150) may direct computing device 120 to activate a third augmentedreality mode of the two or more predetermined augmented reality modes inresponse to receiving the first user input. In some embodiments, thethird augmented reality mode may be configured to enable configurationthe one or more selected items, as described previously above. In someembodiments, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may receive,following the activation of the third augment reality mode, a third userinput detected by computing device 120. In some embodiments, the thirduser input may be associated with configuration of at least one of theone or more items for purchase. In some embodiments, the system (e.g.,merchant POS terminal 150) update a virtual cart with cart informationcomprising an identification of the items that have been selected forpurchase and a total cost of the items that have been selected forpurchase in response to receiving the first user input. In someembodiments, the system (e.g., merchant POS terminal 150) may transmitthe cart information to computing device 120 for display by computingdevice 120.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system”and the like are intended to include a computer-related entity, such asbut not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputing device and the computing device can be a component. One ormore components can reside within a process and/or thread of executionand a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributedbetween two or more computers. In addition, these components can executefrom various computer readable media having various data structuresstored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/orremote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or moredata packets, such as data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a networksuch as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal.

Certain embodiments and implementations of the disclosed technology aredescribed above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems andmethods and/or computer program products according to exampleembodiments or implementations of the disclosed technology. It will beunderstood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, respectively, can be implemented by computer-executableprogram instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams andflow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the orderpresented, may be repeated, or may not necessarily need to be performedat all, according to some embodiments or implementations of thedisclosed technology.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a processor, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particularmachine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer,processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create meansfor implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be storedin a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram blockor blocks.

As an example, embodiments or implementations of the disclosedtechnology may provide for a computer program product, including acomputer-usable medium having a computer-readable program code orprogram instructions embodied therein, said computer-readable programcode adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specifiedin the flow diagram block or blocks. Likewise, the computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or stepsto be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus toproduce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions thatexecute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elementsor steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of elements or steps for performing the specifiedfunctions, and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each block of the blockdiagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and flow diagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose,hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions,elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware andcomputer instructions.

Certain implementations of the disclosed technology are described abovewith reference to mobile computing devices. Those skilled in the artrecognize that there are several categories of mobile devices, generallyknown as portable computing devices that can run on batteries but arenot usually classified as laptops. For example, mobile devices caninclude, but are not limited to portable computers, tablet PCs, internettablets, PDAs, ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs), wearable devices, and smartphones. Additionally, implementations of the disclosed technology can beutilized with internet of things (IoT) devices, smart televisions andmedia devices, appliances, automobiles, toys, and voice command devices,along with peripherals that interface with these devices.

In this description, numerous specific details have been set forth. Itis to be understood, however, that implementations of the disclosedtechnology may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not beenshown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of thisdescription. References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “someembodiments,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “oneimplementation,” “an implementation,” “example implementation,” “variousimplementations,” “some implementations,” etc., indicate that theimplementation(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not everyimplementation necessarily includes the particular feature, structure,or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in oneimplementation” does not necessarily refer to the same implementation,although it may.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinaladjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a commonobject, merely indicate that different instances of like objects arebeing referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects sodescribed must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, inranking, or in any other manner.

Throughout the specification and the claims, the following terms take atleast the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The term “connected” means that onefunction, feature, structure, or characteristic is directly joined to orin communication with another function, feature, structure, orcharacteristic. The term “coupled” means that one function, feature,structure, or characteristic is directly or indirectly joined to or incommunication with another function, feature, structure, orcharacteristic. The term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or.”Further, the terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean one or moreunless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to asingular form. By “comprising” or “containing” or “including” is meantthat at least the named element, or method step is present in article ormethod, but does not exclude the presence of other elements or methodsteps, even if the other such elements or method steps have the samefunction as what is named.

While certain embodiments of this disclosure have been described inconnection with what is presently considered to be the most practicaland various embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure isnot to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the scope of the appended claims. Although specificterms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for purposes of limitation.

This written description uses examples to disclose certain embodimentsof the technology and also to enable any person skilled in the art topractice certain embodiments of this technology, including making andusing any apparatuses or systems and performing any incorporatedmethods. The patentable scope of certain embodiments of the technologyis defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do notdiffer from the literal language of the claims, or if they includeequivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from theliteral language of the claims.

Exemplary Use Cases

The following exemplary use cases describe examples of a typical userflow pattern. It is intended solely for explanatory purposes and not inlimitation. A user may be equipped with a device that is capable ofgenerating an augmented reality display and tracking the user's location(e.g., computing device 120). As a user arrives at a merchant location,the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) may detect that theuser is at the store, and based on the nature of the store, the habitsof the user, or an expressed desire of the user to purchase a particularitem, the system may initiate a sequence of augmented reality modes thatare designed to facilitate the user's purchase of an item. For example,if the user is at a coffee shop and wants to buy coffee, the system mayactivate an augmented reality item selection mode that presents anaugmented display with virtual content that may allow the user to selecta particular item, such as a particular brand of coffee. The user maymake this selection by performing a gesture at the item or a virtualrepresentation of the item displayed by their device (e.g. computingdevice 120), such as pointing at it, clicking it, grabbing at it,swiping at it, and the like. The user might also select the item bystaring at the item or a virtual representation of the item for apredetermined amount of time, which may be detected by the system (e.g.,computing device 120). Once the user has selected an item, the systemmay initiate an augmented reality configuration mode that allows theuser to configure the selected item by performing another set ofpredetermined gestures or other user inputs associated with configuringthe item. For example, if the user has selected a cup of coffee, thedevice (e.g., computing device 120) may display interactive virtualcontent that allows the user to select the size of the coffee, theflavor, whether they want cream or sugar, or any other such commonconfiguration. Following the configuration of the coffee, the system(e.g., service provider terminal 110) may initiate an augmented realitypayment mode that may cause the device (e.g., computing device 120) todisplay interactive virtual content that may enable the user to selectand authorize a payment for the selected items by performing one or moreof another set of gestures or user inputs that are associated withselecting and authorizing a payment method. For example, the act of auser walking through a real or virtual doorway as detected by the device(e.g., computing device 120) may generate a purchase request that maytrigger a payment authorization. The system (e.g. financial serviceprovider terminal 160) may contact the merchant systems (e.g., merchantPOS terminal 150) to provide the payment authorization to execute thesale of the items. In this way, the system may facilitate the process ofpurchasing an item from a merchant at known location using augmentedreality technology.

Another exemplary use case relates to the situation where a user has anintent to purchase an item at another location that is different fromthe location the user is currently at. The system (e.g. service providerterminal 110) may determine the user's intent to purchase the item by,for example, detecting speech or text that is indicative of the intent(e.g., via computing device 120). For example, the system (e.g., viacomputing device 120) may hear the user say “I want to go get a coffee.”Upon determining the user's intent to purchase an item, the system(e.g., service provider terminal 110) may then determine that the useris not at a merchant location that provides the desired item based onlocation data provided by the user's device (e.g., computing device120). Subsequently, the system (e.g., service provider terminal 110) maydetermine one or more merchant locations near to the user that sell thedesired item and may initiate a sequence of predetermined augmentedreality modes designed to guide the user to the merchant location andfacilitate the purchase of the item. The system (e.g., service providerterminal 110) may first initiate an augmented reality navigation modethat presents virtual data at the user device (e.g., computing device120) designed to guide the user to the merchant location. For example,the user device (e.g., computing device 120) may provide an augmentedreality view that displays direction arrows, maps, indications of gasstations, or alternative merchant options and may update thisinformation as the user proceeds towards the merchant location. Uponarriving at the merchant location, the system (e.g., service providerterminal 110) may determine that the user is at the merchant locationand may initiate the augmented reality item selection mode followed bythe other modes described above. In this way, the system may detect theuser's intent to purchase an item, guide the user to a merchant thatsells the item, and facilitate the process of purchasing the item.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of facilitating an augmented realityexperience to purchase an item at a merchant location, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a first computing device and from a secondcomputing device, location data and environmental data representing aphysical environment, the environmental data comprising datarepresentative of a physical item present in the physical environment;responsive to receiving the location data and environmental data,directing, by the first computing device, the second computing device toactivate a first augmented reality mode configured to enable userselection of one or more items available for purchase; identifying, bythe first computing device and based on at least a portion of theenvironmental data, the physical item; generating virtual content by thefirst computing device and based at least in part on the identifiedphysical item, the virtual content being associated with the identifiedphysical item and the one or more items for purchase; transmitting, bythe first computing device and to the second computing device, thevirtual content for display on a display of the second computing device;receiving, by the first computing device, an indication of a first userinput detected by the second computing device, the first user inputbeing associated with selection of at least one of the one or more itemsavailable for purchase to indicate one or more selected items;responsive to receiving the indication of the first user input,directing, by the first computing device, the second computing device toactivate a second augmented reality mode configured to enable paymentfor the one or more selected items; receiving, by the first computingdevice, an indication of a second user input detected by the secondcomputing device, the second user input being associated with paymentfor the one or more selected items; and providing, by the firstcomputing device, purchase request data to a merchant terminal to enablea transaction related to the one or more selected items.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein: the first user input comprises one or more of afirst click of the second computing device, a first swipe of the secondcomputing device, one or more first predetermined user gestures, anduser eye focus exceeding a predetermined time threshold, and the seconduser input comprises one or more of a second click of the secondcomputing device, a second swipe of the second computing device, and oneor more second predetermined user gestures.
 3. The method of claim 1further comprising: directing, by the first computing device, the secondcomputing device to provide a configuration interface in response todetermining that configuration is required, wherein the configurationinterface is configured to enable configuration of the one or moreselected items; receiving, by the first computing device, an indicationof a third user input detected by the second computing device, the thirduser input being associated with configuration of at least one of theone or more selected items; and providing, by the first computingdevice, configuration data to the merchant terminal, the configurationdata being associated with the third user input.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein enabling configuration of the at least one of the one or moreselected items comprises enabling the selection of at least one of asize of the item, a color of the item, or a flavor of the item.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein directing the second computing device toactivate the augmented reality functionality comprises directing, by thefirst computing device, the second computing device to display a promptindicating that selection of the item can be achieved.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving, by the first computing device, anindication that the user associated with the second computing deviceintends to make a purchase at the merchant location; determining, by thefirst computing device and based on the location data, that the secondcomputing device is not at the merchant location; and directing, by thefirst computing device, the second computing device to navigate, via theaugmented reality functionality, to the merchant location from a currentlocation of the second computing device.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the virtual content comprises a virtual depiction of an item forsale from the merchant, the item being related to the physical item andhaving a configuration different from a configuration of the physicalitem.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprising: receiving, at thefirst computing device and from the second computing device, biometricdata associated with a user of the first computing device; determining,based on the biometric data, a state of the user; generatingbiometric-based virtual content corresponding to the state of the user;and transmitting, by the first computing device and to the secondcomputing device, the biometric-based virtual content for display on thedisplay of the second computing device.
 9. A method of facilitating anaugmented reality experience to purchase an item at a merchant location,the method comprising: detecting, by a computing device, location dataand environmental data representing a physical environment of thecomputing device, the environmental data comprising data representativeof a physical item present in the physical environment; transmitting, bythe computing device and to a service provider terminal, the locationdata and environmental data; activating, by the computing device, afirst augmented reality mode configured to enable user selection of oneor more items for purchase; receiving, at the computing device, virtualcontent generated and transmitted from the service provider terminal,the virtual content associated with the physical item and the one ormore items for purchase, the one or more items for purchase at least inpart comprising digital variations of the physical item; displaying, bythe computing device, at least a portion of the virtual content, thevirtual content comprising the one or more items for purchase presentedas digital alternatives to the physical item; detecting, by thecomputing device, a first user input that is representative of a userselection of at least one of the one or more items for purchase toindicate one or more selected items; responsive to detecting the firstuser input, activating a second augmented reality mode configured toenable payment for the one or more selected items; detecting, by thecomputing device, a second user input that is representative of a user'sintent to pay for the one or more selected items; and transmitting, tothe service provider terminal, the second user input.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein detection of one of the first user input or the seconduser input comprises detection of a click gesture, a swipe gesture, afocus gesture, or a step gesture.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereindetection of a click gesture comprises detection, by the computingdevice, of a pointing motion associated with a visual indication of theat least one of the one or more items available for purchase or apayment option.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein detection of a swipegesture comprises detection, by the computing device, of a swipingmotion associated with a visual indication of the at least one of theone or more items available for purchase or a payment option.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein detection of a focus gesture comprisesdetermining that a gaze of a user of the computing device is focused ona visual indication of the at least one of the one or more itemsavailable for purchase for longer than a predetermined threshold amountof time.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein detection of a step gesturecomprises determining that the computing device or a user of thecomputing device has transitioned through a predetermined threshold inthe physical environment.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein activatingthe augmented reality functionality is based on an instruction from theservice provider terminal, the instruction being sent by the serviceprovider terminal in response to a determination by the service providerterminal that the computing device has entered a predefined merchantlocation associated with a merchant.
 16. The method of claim 9 furthercomprising: subsequent to receiving the first user input, activating, bythe computing device, a configuration interface configured to enableconfiguration of the one or more selected items; and detecting, by thecomputing device, a third user input that is representative ofconfiguration of at least one of the one or more selected items.
 17. Amethod of facilitating an augmented reality experience to purchase anitem at a merchant location, the method comprising: detecting, by amerchant terminal associated with a merchant, that a computing deviceassociated with a user has entered a predefined merchant locationassociated with the merchant; responsive to detecting that the computingdevice has entered the predefined merchant location, directing thecomputing device to activate a first augmented reality mode configuredto enable user selection of one or more items for purchase; identifying,based at least in part on environmental data received from the computingdevice, a physical item present in a physical environment; generating,based at least in part on the identified physical item, virtual contentassociated with the identified physical item and the one or more itemsfor purchase; transmitting the virtual content to the computing devicefor display on a display of the computing device; receiving anindication of a first user input detected by the computing device, thefirst user input being associated with selection of at least one of theone or more items for purchase to indicate one or more selected items;responsive to receiving the indication of the first user input,directing the computing device to activate a second augmented realitymode configured to enable payment for the one or more selected items;and receiving an indication of a second user input detected by thecomputing device, the second user input being associated with paymentfor the one or more selected items.
 18. The method of claim 17 furthercomprising: receiving, from a financial service provider terminal,purchase request data to enable a transaction related to the one or moreselected items, wherein the purchase request data comprises user paymentcredentials.
 19. The method of claim 17 further comprising: subsequentto receiving the first user input, directing the computing device toactivate a configuration interface configured to enable configuration ofthe one or more selected items; and receiving an indication of a thirduser input detected by the computing device, the third user input beingassociated with configuration of at least one of the one or moreselected items.
 20. The method of claim 17 further comprising: updating,by the merchant terminal and in response to receiving the first userinput, a virtual cart with cart information comprising an identificationof the one or more selected items and a cumulative cost of the one ormore selected items; and transmitting, by the merchant terminal and tothe computing device, the cart information for display by the computingdevice.